Europe has for a long time paid the great attention on the protection of the rights
and interests of consumers which is shown in the field of tourism through the development of a series of decrees and laws to strict regulations on the liability of travel business operator in order to achieve the protection on the interests and the rights of the travel consumers.
No matter The International Convention about the Travel Contract in Brussels or the European uniform directive on the tourism, all of them have focused on making the liability of travel business operator specific and strict, and its prominent feature is that the package travel organizers of the package travel contract need not only to be responsible for the whole package travel product but also need to be charge of various single tourism services composed of the package tourism products no matter whether it is provided by the package travel organizers. The package travel organizers can no longer free themselves from the liability like before with the reason that he is not the providers of the tourism service. So this can be seen as to conduct a comprehensive basis for the protection the rights and interests of tourism consumers and this spirit has been accepted by the EU member states in the following procession to adjust their national laws in accordance with EU directive.
With this starting point it gradually forms a relatively complete system of the liability of the package travel organizers through the ways such as the enactment of
tourism law and accordingly added to a large number of lega l norms to adjust the
liability of the package travel organizers in the travel law and civil law. Although the
individ ual EU member States develop their national travel laws in different patterns,
but their starting point is the same - to provide a legal basis for the protection of the rights and interests of the travel consumer and constantly improve it.
With regards to the level of protection has not been limited to the provided package tourism product itself; it also includes the ultimate goal of the package tour the spiritual enjoyment. Originally it was supported only in the judicial practice and later was incorpor ated into the formal legal provisions by some EU countries; today it has been accepted by more EU member states which expresses the advancement of
the entire European region in the protection of the rights and interests of travel
consumers and makes its l iability system of the package travel organizers in the
forefront of the world. Therefore, tracing the source of the European region in the first part is for the purpose to find the reasons and methods for China to learn from it well. Many countries and regions in Asia have inser ted the Europe's successful
experience and theoretical learning into their own construction of the liability regime of package travel organizers . They are engaged in the practice of the different
legislative mode and content of the EU countries according to the characteristics
themselves. Japan learning the model of French to develop their own independent
travel Basic Law to adjust the liability of the package travel organizers , China's
Taiwan region in accordance with the German model set up a chapter about the travel
contract in the civil law to regulate the liability of the package travel organizers, and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has also kept the case law model
of British.
Although they are different in the content and model, but they all find their own
suitable patterns with the integration of its own characteristics forming their unique
style in the course of learning and drawing on the European advanced theories. The
detailed discussion about the construction of the liability system of the package travel
organizers of these Asian countries in the second part is for the purpose of exploring
the absorbing process of these Asian countries and then gives rise to the thought: How can China find the appropriate model of their own country to form its liability system of the package travel organizers in learning and drawing on the European experience.
China's tourism industry developed rapidly after the reform and opening-up of 1978, but the problems associa ted with the development of tourism has gradually
become apparent in tourism activity, in particular, the issue of the infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of tourists has bee paid attention by a vast number of legislators. Because the relevant laws and regulations in China are very imperfect, China has no travel Basic Law adjusting the liability of the package travel organizers, and in contract law, the travel contract is still taken as a nameless contract, and it can only be applicable to the genera l principles of Civil Law, Contract Law, and Consumer Protection law which leads to the court often make different decisions under the different legal basis for the same or similar cases about the travel contract and which makes the interests rights of tourists can not be protected reasonably and effectively and seriously impede the healthy development of the tourism industry.
Therefore, the third part of the article is mainly from two aspects, theory and practice, to discuss China's current legislative status and shortcomings and the
breakthrough of judicial practice for the laws about the liability system of the package travel organizers.
The study on the liability system of the package travel organizers has for a long
time been a rather weak area in the domestic legal research. It is not coordinate with
the booming tourism market of China and is not incompatible with an orderly, sound
and legal environment after China enters into the WTO under the international
standards. Speeding up the construction of the liability system of the package travel
organizers in China is not only related to the healthy development of the entire
tourism industry, but also affects the protection of the rights and interests of the entire consumer groups. So it plays an important role in socio-economic development of China.
In all, the advanced theories and models of the Europe, particularly Italy as well
as the learning process in various Asian countries has given us a good example. China
has developed into a big tourism country, because tourism becomes an integral part of
Chinese living , the various relationships causes by tourism have been throughout the
whole of society, the tourism legislation should be a social legislation and its
adjustment scope is the entire community, rather than a particular industry, therefore,
in order to regulate the liability of the package travel organizers , we must firstly
establish a sound tourism legislative system in China and at the same time we must
also see that China has its own historical and cultural traditions. In such background
how to find a model suitable for China is still firstly considered in the tourism
legislation.
But anyway, the protection of the rights and interests of tourism consumers and
the protection of the rights and interests of consumers as a whole is our persistent goal....more